It was in 1990, more than two decades ago, that the Amrita Institute of Computer Technology (AICT) came into being, not too far from the Mata Amritanandamayi Math in Amritapuri, Kerala.
It was probably hard for anyone to imagine then that AICT also represented the genesis of what would become a world-class university in the future.
The Amrita Institute of Technology and Science (AITEC) was born in 2002. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham would come into being only a year later; this institute was hence affiliated to Kerala University.
When UGC granted permission to start Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in 2003, AICT and AITEC, both naturally came under its purview. The former transformed into the Amrita School of Arts and Sciences and the latter into the Amrita School of Engineering.
Today Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has three Schools of Arts and Sciences, in Amritapuri, Kochi and Mysore.
Likewise, there are Schools of Engineering also on three campuses, viz. Amritapuri, Bangalore and Coimbatore.
Together they offer undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs in several branches of engineering, sciences and arts. Thousands of students are enrolled in BTech, BCA, BSc, BCom, BBM, MTech, MCA, MSc, MCom and PhD programs in these schools.
At the Amritapuri campus, graduates from the past two decades came together for an alumni reunion on June 8, 2013
Recalling their glorious Amrita days, many alumni addressed their peers from the podium, giving thanks to the institution that helped shaped their lives and careers.
“I am so happy to meet everyone, my friends and my teachers,” stated Georgie Rajan.
“We, Amritians, have a unique identity. Wherever we go, we make an impact. I have experienced it and I am proud of it,” he added.
“I just cannot forget my student life here. It was a defining period of my life. One couldn’t have imagined that such a big institution would come up in this remote village. We have got everything because of this college and Amma,” remarked Aditya.
The Principal of Amrita School of Engineering Dr. K. Sankaran addressed the alumni. “Our faculty and students are now undertaking world-class research. We have received funding of several crores of rupees from funding agencies for this research. On our campus, we have research centers for Cybersecurity, E-Learning, Wireless Networks, Computational Neurosciences, Haptics and Biotechnology.”
A grand lunch awaited the alumni. Post lunch, they were treated to entertaining skits, song and dance presentations.
“We learned how to face challenges while at Amrita, we received very good training here. Thanks to Amrita,” summed up Remya.
June 25, 2013
Amritapuri Campus
